Apple Watch beats in sync with dedicated heart rate monitors

Posted May 10, 20159 yr

The Apple Watch has proven itself to be nearly as accurate in measuring a person's heart rate as other wrist-mounted heart rate monitors.

If you've been wondering how accurate the Apple Watch's heart rate monitor is, we now have a better look at how exactly it performs against dedicated devices. Engineer Brad Larson measured the Apple Watch agains the Mio Alpha, and found they reported similar results after a run:

Aside from the Apple Watch capturing heartrate once per 5 s, and the Mio Alpha every 3 s, the readings are nearly identical. Impressed.

— Brad Larson (@bradlarson)

May 7, 2015

Larson posted a chart to go along with his findings:

It looks like that secret health and fitness lab has paid off.

The Apple Watch heart rate monitor uses light to measure blood flow under your skin. While these new results point to the Apple Watch taking accurate readings, if you still feel that you need some external help, be sure to follow our guide to pairing an external heart rate monitor with your watch.

Source: Brad Larson (1), (2) (Twitter), via iClarified

Apple Watch